Tale of Two Raws

We really are an unlikely team - an Aries and a Virgo, fire and earth. Yikes! But it works
Although Joan’s education originally led her into the field of geology, she eventually returned to her childhood passion with food, becoming in turn a chef, restaurateur, and caterer in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area; the owner and operator of an organic farm in Puerto Rico; and a florist in Sarasota, Florida.

In 2002, Joan opened her own firm, Floral Concept, in Sarasota. While traditional floral arrangements are available, the real focus of the company is edible flowers and amazing one-of-a-kind edible centerpieces that are carved from fruits and vegetables.

In the US, Joan studied under Master Carver James Parker, recent winner of the Food Network’s Challenge - Fantasy Fruit Sculptures 2. She honed her carving skills in 2007, when she traveled to Thailand to apprentice with Executive Chef Cru Noy of the famed Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok. Chef Noy judges carving competitions worldwide and was instrumental in Joan’s training. Joan has also traveled extensively through Mexico researching ancient traditional food cures such as the healing properties of edible flowers

Like Joan, Leah has reinvented herself over the years. From the “grow up, get married and have kids” up bringing, she has also been a bookseller, fabric manufacturer, photographer and aesthetician. She moved to Sarasota with her husband from Michigan about nine years ago.

They decided to open Raw Raw Foods because they wanted to eat healthier, and share that experience with other people.

If you are really interested about how we began this business, go to our very first post where I’ve explained it in more detail.